A Story from Harran
by Jessevw
Summary: A/N: extended version, old version deleted. A young man named David tries to contact the outside world from inside Harran, after which he encounters runners from the Tower.


'Where did it all go so terribly wrong...', I wonder, as I survey the rooftops from the overpass. How long has it been now? Weeks? Months, perhaps? I've lost track of the days. They mean nothing to me anymore. All that matters now is the current time. I check my watch: 17:45... I should head home in a few minutes. Dusk will be setting in soon, and I don't want to be outside when they sun goes down. I silently look at the radio in my hand. One last try, then.

"To any who might hear this. I am calling from inside Harran. If anyone on the outside is listening in on this frequency, please respond."

I release the button and await a reply, but I hear only static. I change the frequency and repeat my plea. More static. Nothing is getting through anymore. It's not my radio, it's working perfectly fine. I checked it twice this morning, I'm sure my equipment isn't to blame. The problem has to be in the signal. I sigh. It wasn't always like this. I could freely use it to communicate with some of my friends who left the city before I could, but recently, all radio traffic is silent. The only explanation I can come up with is that someone or something is jamming the signal.

A sound nearby rips me from my thoughts, and I hide behind the metal sheets that line the overpass. Below me, I see a small group of people as they make their way across the rooftops. Looks like they're headed downtown, and judging by the direction they came from, they're probably from the Tower. Why would they go out at this hour? I rest my gaze in the distance, where red smoke rises from between the buildings. They're after an airdrop, then. That explains why they would risk going on a run this late in the day.

Then one of them catches my eye, the person at the back of the group. They're having trouble keeping up with the other runners, who seem a lot more experienced. I watch them miss but a single step, and the plywood rooftop beneath them gives way. A scream sounds from below and the other runners halt. One of them calls out to the fallen person.

"Delilah, are you alright? Any Biters down there?"  
The reply is the voice of a young woman.  
"Yeah, I'm alright, no Biters nearby, it seems. But I think I sprained my ankle. I can't put any weight on my leg!"  
"Hold tight, we'll have them send someone from the Tower. We can't stick around ourselves, I'm sorry."  
"It's alright, I understand. Go! Get that airdrop before anyone else finds it. And be careful!"

The guy looks down into the street and nods. Another one of them contacts the Tower. Either he's got a powerful satellite radio, or the jam only limits signals that go out of Harran. They seem to be on their way again, leaving their companion behind. I generally don't trust the people from the Tower, but seeing as it's this late, I can't leave her out in the open. It can be up to fifteen minutes before help from the tower reaches this district, and that's plenty of time for Biters to move in. She's defenseless on her own.

I check the device on my arm. It's a grappling hook I found on one of my scavenging runs. I found it in a sports shop downtown, and I think it's used for scaling mountains and rappelling from cliffs. Either way, it's perfect for quickly moving vertically in the urban landscape of this city. With a little modification I was able to wear it on my lower left arm. Time to move.

I anchor the hook on the overpass and slowly descend into the suburbs below. There's a group of biters on the other side of the fence, but there don't seem to be any Virals among them. I should be alright as long as there's sunlight left. These guys are no big deal. They're slow and easy to outmaneuver. Virals, however, are a much bigger threat. They're agile, highly mobile and smarter than your average Biter. However, when the sun goes down, all the biters come alive. Including some that don't show their ugly faces during the day. Best not linger.

My feet touch ground and I shake the grappling hook loose. I quickly retract the rope and the hook shoves back into place. I love this thing, but I have to focus on the matter at hand. At the edge of what was previously a playground, a teenage girl rummages through her backpack.

"Where did I put that medkit...", she mumbles to herself. She's so lost in thought, she doesn't see me approaching.  
"Did you check the side pockets?", I ask her.  
Shocked that she isn't alone, she reaches for her belt and pulls out a gun.  
"Woah, easy there..."  
"Are you with Rais?!" she asks.  
"If you pull that trigger, the Biters will be all over us", I tell her.  
"Answer me!", she screams.  
"Sshhh!", I bid her. "Keep your voice down, you'll draw them near like that. I'm not with Rais, don't worry."  
"You're not from the Tower, either", she concludes. "Whose side are you on?"  
"I'm on no one's side. I live a few blocks north of here. Just... put down the gun, will you? It would make helping you a lot easier."  
She takes a good look at me and decides to slowly lower the gun. "You don't strike me like one of Rais's thugs. Why are you here?"  
"Well, that's probably because I'm not with Rais, either", I tell her with a smile.  
I take off my messenger bag, and pull out a medkit.  
"I saw you fall", I tell her.  
"Well, thanks for reminding me. I misjudged the distance and I stepped on a weak part of the rooftop."  
"Missing a step can get you killed in a city like this. You really ought to be more careful."

The door of a nearby shed flies open, and a Biter falls forward. They often get themselves locked up and then try to break through the door as they hear noise outside. They're dumb like that. As I am about to turn my head back to the girl, I realize the Biter is recovering from his fall at an awfully fast rate.  
"That's a Viral!", the girl calls out. She's right, no time to waste. She reaches for her gun again, but I grab her by the waist and shoot my grappling hook to the rooftop above us. It quickly pulls us up before the Viral can get to us. That's got to have been a survivor once... Either he locked himself in there, or his friends did so they'd be long gone once he turned.

"Nice try, mate!", I shout to him. The beastly noises it produces remind me of severe discontent. It claws at the brick wall below as it tries to find a hold, but it can't scale it as easily as it expected. We should be safe on the rooftop here.

"Now, let's take a look at your leg...", I say, but my sentence is cut short by the familiar sound of a gun cocking.  
"If you as much as touch my sister, I will not hesitate to kill you where you stand."  
As I have no other choice, I raise my hands above my head.  
"I am trying to help her. I have no intention of hurting her", I tell the guy behind me.  
The girl comes to my aid as she says: "Leave him be, Brecken. He seems alright."

"You're Brecken? The leader of the Tower?", I say as I slowly turn around and lower my hands.  
He slowly lowers his gun and nods. "Yeah."  
I extend my hand: "Name's David. David Elburn."  
He leaves me hanging and steps past me. He grabs a medkit from his fanny pack, and kneels next to his sister. "Did you hurt yourself, Delilah?"  
"I might've sprained my ankle, but otherwise I'm alright. If it wasn't for David over here, I might not be."  
Brecken throws a glare over his shoulder. "Whatever. I'm just glad you're alright. They told us over the radio that you'd fallen. I came as soon as I could."

Scratching noises sound behind us and I take a careful look over the edge. The Viral from earlier is slowly crawling its way up a slippery rain pipe. "Hey guys, he's trying to climb up." Brecken reaches for his gun, but I gesture him not to. "No need to waste your ammo, man. Just wait until he's up here." Slowly but surely, the Viral is making its way up, apparently getting more excited as he goes. I'm still not sure what drives these things. My guess at first was hunger, but I've heard they can go weeks without eating.

As the Viral finally reaches the top, my well-aimed kick throws him three stories down, right into an empty garbage can. Its body folds over as it falls, solidly getting itself stuck in the drum. "A whole new definition of 'taking out the trash'", Brecken exclaims. "You seem like a good guy and that's worth something, since I don't trust people easily."  
"I can't blame you for that" I tell him.  
"We could use someone like you in the Tower, mate."

Brecken isn't the only guy on this rooftop with trust issues.  
"I appreciate the offer, Brecken," I tell him, "I really do. But I've been fine on my own so far, and I prefer to stay that way, if you don't mind."  
"Well, if that's your choice, I can't force you to reconsider", he says. "Thanks for protecting my sister, in any case. With a bit of rest she should be up and running by next week. Take care out there."  
"I will. You better worry about yourselves." I grin and extend my hand again. This time he shakes it with a smile.

My watch beeps. 6PM. "It's getting late. You guys better head back to the Tower. If you ever need backup, I live in the apartments up north. Third floor, second window from the left. You can barely see it from here."  
"Much appreciated, David. I'll keep it in mind. Good luck out there."

I aim my grappling hook on the next building and let it fly as the sun is starting to set. I'm hoping they make it back on time. From here on out I'll be focused on myself again. Better head back to my place and take inventory, so I know what I'll set out to find tomorrow.


End file.
